Epiphany and Jesse get married at Clearwater Casino Resort

I have been extremely fortunate this past summer to have had the opportunity to work with some amazing couples, at some amazing weddings.  And the wedding of Epiphany and Jesse on September 1 may have been the best of them all.  I had a wonderful engagement photo session with them earlier in the summer (click the link to see the photos), and could tell that their wedding was going to be something special.  But I have to admit that I underestimated just how incredible it would be!

The wedding was held at the Clearwater Casino Resort, located just off the Agate Pass bridge in Suquamish, near Poulsbo.  I have driven past the Casino dozens of times, but have never stopped to visit; for me gambling just means seeing how quickly it is possible to lose all of my money!  So I had no idea how elaborate the grounds were at the Casino.  I now understand why it is described as a Resort.

Pre-ceremony Prep and Photos

When I arrived at the Casino my first order of business was to do a quick reconnaissance of the grounds, to see where the ceremony would be held and get a better idea of photo possibilities for my session with Jesse and Epiphany before the ceremony.  I was very excited to find several locations that looked like excellent places for photos.  The weather had changed from an overcast morning to a mostly sunny early afternoon, and it looked like it would be sunny and warm at ceremony time.

After my explorations I went to locate Epiphany and Jesse.  I started by finding Epiphany, who was in one of the hotel rooms with a number of her relatives and bridesmaids.  I got a few photos and then went to find Jesse, who was hanging with a bunch of the groomsmen inside a small building next to where the ceremony would take place.

Before I go any further I need to tell you a bit more about the wedding plans.  This was planned to be a large wedding, with ~200+ guests.  And the size of the wedding party was equally impressive, with 28 bridesmaids, groomsmen, flower girls, ring bearers and who knows who else.  LOL!  Lots of people to keep track of, and that doesn’t even include the families!  Normally I list all of the members of the wedding party in my blog posts, but in this case there are so many I’m not sure if I even have room to do so!  😉  I have photographed large wedding parties many times, but rarely a group of more than 20, and it is very important to have the right location for photos of such large groups to make sure everyone in the group is visible.

I moved back and forth between Jesse’s and Epiphany’s rooms for the next hour or so, getting photos of both as they finished dressing, until Epiphany was ready for the “first look”.  She looked absolutely incredible!  And from Jesse’s reaction when he saw her he obviously agreed!  You can see the first look photos below.

Then it was time for photos with just Jesse and Epiphany.  We first moved down to the beach for some photos.  Beautiful view south down along Agate Pass, the passage between Bainbridge Island and the peninsula, that was an excellent backdrop for the session.  We then moved back up to the resort proper and visited some of the other spots that I had located earlier.  Both Epiphany and Jesse could have careers as models if they wanted to, and we got a lot of great shots.

Next was the part that I was a bit nervous about, organizing the very large wedding party for photos.  I was lucky to have help from several of the wedding party and family members in locating the bridesmaids and groomsmen when they were needed, and the session went quite smoothly.  But because guests were starting to arrive we decided to end the session before taking any family photos, so Epiphany could disappear until it was time for the ceremony.

The Ceremony

The wedding ceremony was held on a large lawn that faced out over Agate Pass.  By now the sky was almost cloudless, but the temperature was just about perfect even though everyone was sitting in the sunshine.  The wedding party got organized inside the lobby of the hotel; not an easy task getting everyone paired up correctly when dealing with 30+ people!  Once all of the guests had taken their seats and the wedding party was set, the processional began.  I apologize that I did not include more photos of the processional, but there were so many that it would have taken up too much space.  The key photos of Jesse with his parents and Epiphany being escorted by her father are here, as you’ll see below.

Once Epiphany met Jesse at the “altar”, the actual ceremony began.  The officiants were from Jesse and Epiphany’s church, and worked together throughout the ceremony.  I have to confess that while I am photographing a ceremony my focus (no pun intended) is on capturing photos of as much as possible of everyone involved

The Reception

Once the ceremony was completed, we still needed to take the photos with Epiphany’s and Jesse’s families, as well as the entire wedding party.  The guests were directed to move to the Canoe Event Center, where the reception dinner and party would be held, while the families and wedding party remained behind.  We got a lot of great photos of both families, and as the photos progressed the groups kept getting bigger and bigger!  You’ll see some of the photos below.

Once we finished the family photos, the family members who were not also part of the wedding party were sent to join the guests at the Canoe Room, while the wedding party moved to an area just outside the Canoe Room where we could get some shots of the entire wedding party, and where they could also assemble and organize for their Grand Entrance into the reception.  I loved the entrance the wedding party made as they came into the Canoe Room, as everyone did their own special dance as they came through the doors.  The final entrants were of course Jesse and Epiphany, who boogied their into the room and straight onto the dance floor, where they then continued to demonstrate their dancing skills before finally moving to their table.

I have photographed something over 1200 weddings in my time as a wedding photographer, including some weddings that were even larger than this one.  But Epiphany has a Samoan background, and this reception had some elements that I had never encountered before, and it was an incredible experience.

Aunt Tiffany was the MC for the events during the reception.  She is apparently related to both Epiphany and Jesse, though the exact relationship is not clear to me.  She took charge as soon as Jesse and Epiphany sat down at their table, and directed the various dances, speeches, etc. that took place over the course of the evening.

Soon after the wedding party made their entrance the Casino staff opened the line to the buffet, and everyone made their way to get some dinner.  My experience over the years has been that casinos tend to have some of the best food I have ever eaten, and that was certainly the case here!  Fantastic food, and many of the guests made multiple trips through the buffet line.

Throughout the dinner the music continued , and there was continuous use of the dance floor.  After most of the guests had finished dinner there were a number of speeches given by family and members of the wedding party.

Once the speeches were finished the entertainment began.  In all the years I have been photographing weddings I have never seen anything like the displays of dancing that took place here.  Epiphany’s Samoan ancestry was celebrated with multiple incredible dances.  And during these dances guests would walk onto the dance floor and literally throw money at the dancers; other people would then come onto the floor and pick up all of the bills and place them into baskets that were given to the bride and groom.  Really a lot of fun to watch (and to photograph) the dancers!

Interspersed between the dancers were performances and speeches by other guests, all of which were very enjoyable and some of which were learning experiences; for me, at least!  One man from New Zealand gave a vocal demonstration unlike anything I have ever seen before.  And Aunt Tiffany did a solo dance and speech that were very impressive.

We finally got to some of what I would call the more “traditional” wedding dances at the great majority of weddings that I have attended; the first dance for the newlyweds, and the father/daughter and mother/son dances.  Epiphany and Jessie flipped the usual order of these dances, beginning with the mother/son dance, then the father/daughter dance and concluding with the bride and groom having their official first dance as a married couple.  All of these dances were beautifully done, and I had a great time taking photos of everything.

Next up was the cutting of the wedding cake.  This was an incredible cake, please be sure to check it out in the photos below.  Epiphany and Jesse were both very civilized as they fed each other pieces of the wedding cake, and both came away without and cake smeared into their face or hair!  😉

Now the dance floor was opened to all of the guests, and Jesse and Epiphany disappeared while the floor was mobbed with dancers.  Dancing continued for maybe 15-20 minutes and then there was a commotion as Epiphany and Jesse returned to the dance floor, now wearing Samoan attire.  The floor was cleared except for the couple, who then performed a traditional Samoan dance called a Taualuga, which was a variation of the “money dance” that is performed at many weddings.  I had been very impressed with the earlier dancing performances, but this dance was hands-down the coolest dance I have ever seen at a wedding!  While Jesse and Epiphany were the only dancers, the dance floor was mobbed with guests who would run out onto the floor, throw money at either or both of the dancers, and then run off only to be replaced by more guests who would throw more money.  The helpers who were trying to gather all of the bills were pretty much overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of cash and finally mostly gave up and let the dance run its course.  I have included several photos of the Taualuga that you’ll see below, but I could have done a full photo spread just on this dance.  What a blast!

At the finish of the dance Epiphany and Jesse left to go change back into their wedding clothes, and while they were gone the dancing resumed.  The party continued for another couple hours, with everyone enjoying the music and company.

This was simply the most amazing wedding that I have ever attended.  and since I have photographed more than 1200 weddings over 38 years that is really saying something!  Everyone at this wedding will remember it forever.